Steve Lacy's New Signature Guitar Is a People Pleaser

The artist's new Fender People Pleaser Stratocaster arrives with a built-in fuzz circuit, custom finish and inlays

Photo: Fender

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished May 9, 2023

The accolades keep coming for Steve Lacy following last year's release of acclaimed sophomore LP Gemini Rights, with news that the artist now has his own signature guitar with Fender.

Lacy and the instrument company have unveiled the Steve Lacy People Pleaser Stratocaster, a "true one-of-a-kind meant for players with limitless vision and a rebel spirit," which you see the artist biting into above.

Lacy's signature axe arrives in a hot pink and black "Chaos Burst" finish, and comes wired up with a custom onboard Steve Lacy Chaos Fuzz circuit for "a huge range of dirty tones" when you aren't dialling in his chiming cleans.

Other signature touches include a custom dice inlay at the 12th fret — double sixes, of course —  a checker patterned back plate, Lacy's autograph on the back of the headstock, and a vintage-style hardware case with fuzzy green interior.

Some deeper details for the gear heads: the People Pleaser features a modern Deep "C"-shaped neck with a 9.5-inch radius maple fretboard and narrow, tall frets.

You can watch Lacy rock out with the instrument, and see a more controlled demo of how the People Pleaser plays below. 

In February, Lacy spoke about his first-ever guitar in an interview with Nardwuar

Before it captured Best Progressive R&B Album honours at the 2023 Grammy AwardsGemini Rights was named among Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2022, while "Bad Habit" was named among Exclaim!'s 25 Best Songs of 2022.


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